Any ships still out there that can dock in Hamilton or St George Bermuda

[pscozz702]

We sailed the Zenith to Bermuda and docked at both and wanted to do that same thing again. However, after a couple of years sailing the Caribbean and the smaller ships that all the cruiselines had were starting to disappear. So my DW was just asking me to post this question to see if there are ships out and about the US that can use those ports anymore. It sure would be nice if there was. A small ship is very intimate and being near the "action" on Front St and the quietness of St George is remarkable.

[sail7seas]

We sailed Zenith to Bermuda years ago and docked in Hamilton and at St. Georges. That was great.

 

Until this year, HAL's Veendam docked at downtown Hamilton but they stopped doing the Bermuda itinerary this year.

 

I think the other ships sailing to Bermuda are too large for Hamilton. The have to dock at the BoatYard.

[pscozz702]

I see with each new build the ships only get bigger, wish a small ship can out. I have been following at a distance the construction of the pier in RNDY. The bad thing about there is your only there for a shorter time rather than in Hamilton and St George. Granted the island is only 21 miles long and easy to get around but the convenience of being near so many options was better. Can there be a petition to HAL and get them to return to Hamilton.

[Scrapnana]

HAL's Prinsendam was there earlier in the year as part of her TA but she does not make regular trips to Bermuda.

[Essiesmom]

There are ships calling in both ports, but you have to search for them, and be prepared to pay the prices. Go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com, from the second list of ports (Destinations), choose Bermuda, St. Georges and Hamilton. There are only a few. Good luck. EM

[bob brown]

Since the Veendam gave up on Bermuda, there are no regular 'Bermuda Cruises' that call at Hamilton. Only the occasional repo's that only spend one day there....So if you want to do a traditional Bermuda cruise, you have to go the the West End, and then take bus or ferry to Hamilton and St. George, or taxi or rent a scooter.....

 

I looked at the link Essiesmon provided, and see that there are some doing a stop there for a day or two as part of a longer circle cruise, but as mentioned are mostly upscale smaller ships with steep fares.....

[dorisis]

Oceania's Regatta docks in both Hamilton and St. George. They do a round trip from Miami and stop in Norfolk,Va., Charleston,SC. And Port Canaveral on the way back to Miami. I think it is only once a year in the spring.

[sail7seas]

Again, part of a longer cruise and not a dedicated Bermuda cruise.

[njhorseman]

For 2013 there are only 15 scheduled cruise ship calls at Hamilton or St. George's. Eight were in March or April, and two in May.One will be in October, three in November and one in December. None are in the peak cruising season from June through September.

 

Here's the complete schedule, if anyone is interested: (Note that St. George's is listed as "Penno's" because the ships dock at Penno's Wharf.

http://seaexpress.bm/Documents/Shipping_schedules/2013%20Cruise%20Ship%20Schedule.pdf

[pscozz702]

Looking at the seaexpress schedule less ships are even calling on Bermuda...wonder why?, could be the only place to dock is in Kings Warf? The smaller ships pulling into Hamilton and St George are really long cruises. They also don't come out of the US or are not closed loops. I know Celebrity, NCL, and RCCL sold or traded out their small ships, not sure what happened to HALs. Is it the cruiseline marketing that has them getting these huge, mega ships sailing from the US. We love NCL, but I doubt I will sail any ship larger than maybe 3000 passengers. It is a shame that these ports aren't used like they once were.

[njhorseman]

Looking at the seaexpress schedule less ships are even calling on Bermuda...wonder why?, could be the only place to dock is in Kings Warf? The smaller ships pulling into Hamilton and St George are really long cruises. They also don't come out of the US or are not closed loops. I know Celebrity, NCL, and RCCL sold or traded out their small ships, not sure what happened to HALs. Is it the cruiseline marketing that has them getting these huge, mega ships sailing from the US. We love NCL, but I doubt I will sail any ship larger than maybe 3000 passengers. It is a shame that these ports aren't used like they once were.

 

It's generally believed that HAL pulled the Veendam (the last ship to make regular weekly calls at Hamilton and St. George's) out at the conclusion of the 2012 season primarily because Bermuda still didn't allow the ships to open their casinos at night, despite repeated reassurances from the government that the law would be changed to permit it.

[bob brown]

It's generally believed that HAL pulled the Veendam (the last ship to make regular weekly calls at Hamilton and St. George's) out at the conclusion of the 2012 season primarily because Bermuda still didn't allow the ships to open their casinos at night, despite repeated reassurances from the government that the law would be changed to permit it.

I really don't 'get' Bermuda's objection to the casino's aboard being open in port....it's not as if there are any casino's ashore to compete with, and if it's a 'moral issue', no local residents can board the ship to patronize them, so what's the objection?:confused:

[njhorseman]

I really don't 'get' Bermuda's objection to the casino's aboard being open in port....it's not as if there are any casino's ashore to compete with, and if it's a 'moral issue', no local residents can board the ship to patronize them, so what's the objection?:confused:

 

The churches have simply been steadfastly opposed to allowing the ship's casinos to open and to date that has been enough to convince the government not to do it. There is supposed to be a referendum on the topic in the near future. I also believe that the hotel operators would really raise a fuss if they weren't permitted to have casinos while the ships were.

[sail7seas]

I really don't 'get' Bermuda's objection to the casino's aboard being open in port....it's not as if there are any casino's ashore to compete with, and if it's a 'moral issue', no local residents can board the ship to patronize them, so what's the objection?:confused:

 

 

I think a factor is they want the ship's guests to be ashore in their restaurants and bars and spending money in Bermuda rather than gambling on the ship.

 

[navybankerteacher]

It's generally believed that HAL pulled the Veendam (the last ship to make regular weekly calls at Hamilton and St. George's) out at the conclusion of the 2012 season primarily because Bermuda still didn't allow the ships to open their casinos at night, despite repeated reassurances from the government that the law would be changed to permit it.

 

That wouldn't be the explanation -- there are plenty of ships calling at Dockyard. I think HAL didn't want to compete price-wise with the discounted lines sailing to Bermuda - just as they stopped sailing from New York to the Caribbean in the Winter.

[pscozz702]

I think a factor is they want the ship's guests to be ashore in their restaurants and bars and spending money in Bermuda rather than gambling on the ship.

 

 

That makes the most sense, but then the cruise industry sort of alienates cruisers who love Bermuda and don't want to fly there our can't fly there. I looked at resorts on the island and cruising is far more economical. Maybe their argument will become cruisers don't eat at land restaurants because it's included in the fare. My DW and I like to gamble but would forgo the casino white in port

 

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[pscozz702]

Posting from my phone is a little touchy...finishing my thought the ship will make money on selling drinks or are they really feeling they are losing that much money from the casinos. Times are still tough look at land casino revenues, they're still off from years ago.

 

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[JHU]

That makes the most sense, but then the cruise industry sort of alienates cruisers who love Bermuda and don't want to fly there our can't fly there. I looked at resorts on the island and cruising is far more economical. Maybe their argument will become cruisers don't eat at land restaurants because it's included in the fare. My DW and I like to gamble but would forgo the casino white in port

 

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_____________________________

 

My best cruise to Bermuda (of six) was on the Azamara Journey in 2007; the perfect ship for both St. Georges and Hamilton. Loved it so much, came back on board to both for the following year. Unfortunately, Azamara Club Cruises only now hits Bermuda on the long runs (as previously mentioned). Hamilton (for sure) and maybe St. George's have suffered economic losses due to the ships not tying up. Witness the closing of Trimingham's, etc. Very sad.:(

[pscozz702]

_____________________________

 

My best cruise to Bermuda (of six) was on the Azamara Journey in 2007; the perfect ship for both St. Georges and Hamilton. Loved it so much, came back on board to both for the following year. Unfortunately, Azamara Club Cruises only now hits Bermuda on the long runs (as previously mentioned). Hamilton (for sure) and maybe St. George's have suffered economic losses due to the ships not tying up. Witness the closing of Trimingham's, etc. Very sad.:(

 

Journey and Zenith, sister ships. We had such a great time on Zenith. I look at people asking about Bermuda and they have no idea what it was like to be there with so much time to do so much for so long. Now they have to watch the time and plan an attack to do very little. Don't get me wrong all the islands are better than being home but Bermuda I found to be the friendliest. We really would go there on any line any ship but the only stipulation would be 3 days I Front St and 2 days St. George, or 2 days at the Dockyard even. Met some locals at St. George so going there would be better than no mans land on the other side of the island.

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[SailBadtheSinner]

We sailed the Zenith to Bermuda and docked at both and wanted to do that same thing again. However, after a couple of years sailing the Caribbean and the smaller ships that all the cruiselines had were starting to disappear. So my DW was just asking me to post this question to see if there are ships out and about the US that can use those ports anymore. It sure would be nice if there was. A small ship is very intimate and being near the "action" on Front St and the quietness of St George is remarkable.

 

 

Here's a quick list of those that visit Hamilton and/or St George. None of the visit are from June to September.

• Azamara Quest
  
• Prinsendam
  
• Hamburg
  
• Seven Seas Mariner
  
• Alexander Von Humbolt
  
• Silver Spirit
  
• Silver Whisper
  
• Regatta
  
• Seven Seas Navigator
  
• Wind Star
  

 

SBtS

[bob brown]

I think a factor is they want the ship's guests to be ashore in their restaurants and bars and spending money in Bermuda rather than gambling on the ship.

 

That is certainly a possibility, however on my cruise to Bermuda on the Veendam last year, I think many passengers would have lunch ashore, but very few would have dinner ashore....

[njhorseman]

That wouldn't be the explanation -- there are plenty of ships calling at Dockyard. I think HAL didn't want to compete price-wise with the discounted lines sailing to Bermuda - just as they stopped sailing from New York to the Caribbean in the Winter.

 

The cruise lines based at Dockyard don't like the lack of gambling either. NCL has been lobbying to have shipboard gambling approved for some time. They have a long term contractual commitment to dock at Heritage Wharf, so they can't just walk away until that contract is up, but they've already threatened to pull the Breakaway out of the market if Bermuda doesn't eliminate the gambling restriction. By the way other Carnival Corporation lines, Carnival and Princess, that had been cruising to Bermuda and berthing at Dockyard also pulled out. Guess why.

 

What "discounted lines" are you talking about? You might want to check NCL's Celebrity's, and Royal Caribbean's prices to Bermuda. They're very high. The fact is that HAL's ship that was cruising to Bermuda was older and didn't have the on board facilities to compete with the newer ships used by the other cruise lines. Other than the advantage of docking in Hamilton, their product was not appealing to the larger segment of the market that wants newer ships with all the bells and whistles.

[njhorseman]

Journey and Zenith, sister ships. We had such a great time on Zenith. I look at people asking about Bermuda and they have no idea what it was like to be there with so much time to do so much for so long. Now they have to watch the time and plan an attack to do very little. Don't get me wrong all the islands are better than being home but Bermuda I found to be the friendliest. We really would go there on any line any ship but the only stipulation would be 3 days I Front St and 2 days St. George, or 2 days at the Dockyard even. Met some locals at St. George so going there would be better than no mans land on the other side of the island.

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Journey and Zenith are not sister ships. Azamara Journey is one of two identical former Renaissance Cruises ships purchased at the the time Azamara started. The other ship is of course the Azamara Quest.

 

We cruised on both to Bermuda...several times on the Zenith, and once on Azamara Journey (one of their first cruises).

 

The ships are nothing alike.

[jmf123]

Journey and Zenith are not sister ships. Azamara Journey is one of two identical former Renaissance Cruises ships purchased at the the time Azamara started. The other ship is of course the Azamara Quest.

 

We cruised on both to Bermuda...several times on the Zenith, and once on Azamara Journey (one of their first cruises).

 

The ships are nothing alike.

 

You are correct, njhorseman, the Zenith was a Celebrity ship- sister of the wonderful former Celebrity Horizon. Loved both of these ships, and wish that we had one of them here on the West Coast. I bought my parents a $10 raffle ticket years ago, and they won the prize- a Zenith cruise to Bermuda, r.t. from NYC!

 

Royal Caribbean offers the Explorer of the Seas and Grandeur of the Seas to Bermuda. I prefer Grandeur's smaller size (a bit over 2,400 pax I believe). I have fond memories of being on her inaugural sailing in '96. :)

[sail7seas]

Journey and Zenith are not sister ships. Azamara Journey is one of two identical former Renaissance Cruises ships purchased at the the time Azamara started. The other ship is of course the Azamara Quest.

 

We cruised on both to Bermuda...several times on the Zenith, and once on Azamara Journey (one of their first cruises).

 

The ships are nothing alike.

 

 

Horizon and Zenith are sister ships.

We sailed Zenith about 4-5 times and had some great cruises on her. Liked the ship, loved her Big Suite but always missed she didn't have verandahs.